How Golf Clubs Work

When Tiger Woods won the 2000 U.S. Open, it took four days for the championship to be decided. He was on the course for several hours each day and he finished with a score of 272, which means he hit the ball 272 times. We also know he moved the ball at least 27,372 yards, because that's the length of the Pebble Beach course multiplied by four. But the total amount of time his clubs were in contact with the golf ball during the four days adds up to only about one-tenth of a second!

How can this be? What actually happens when a club hits a golf b­all? Does it really make any difference how the club is designed, or are the new high-tech clubs just so much marketing hype? In this article, we'll examine those 450 millionths of a second that make up a single strike of a golf ball to learn how golf clubs send a golf ball sailing from tee to green.